Commission paves way for crackdown on violations of Rainbow River rules

Published: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 at 5:17 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 at 5:17 p.m.

The crackdown on the Rainbow River nuisance-makers has been approved, just in time for the Memorial Day weekend.

The County Commission on Tuesday unanimously passed a pair of plans designed to prevent or punish scofflaw offenses such as trespassing, public drunkenness, public urination and littering.

Commissioners first revised a 20-year-old ordinance in order to reduce the fine for possessing disposable food or beverage containers on the river.

The penalty for that will now be a $50 citation. Prior to Tuesday, violators faced a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable with a maximum $500 fine and up to 60 days in jail.

County Parks and Recreation Department Director Gina Peebles told the board that the misdemeanor charge was “very punitive,” and thus made law enforcement officers hesitant to enforce the ordinance.

The reduced fine will make authorities “comfortable” with handing out more citations, she said.

The board's second step was to endorse Commissioner Kathy Bryant's request to beef up the law enforcement presence on the river, at the county's KP Hole Park and in nearby riverfront neighborhoods.

The vote will add three deputies during weekends and holidays from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

They will augment the two off-duty officers — one each from the Sheriff's Office and the Dunnellon Police Department — the county typically hires during that time. Those officers only patrol KP Hole, home of the tube launch, and Blue Run of Dunnellon Park, which is where they exit.

It's unclear how much the extra patrols will cost.

A proposal by Lt. Tim O'Hara, the Sheriff's Office's district commander for the Dunnellon area, put the cost at just shy of $30,000.

But his plan covered 44 days, and the board noted that it would need more deputies for only 33 days.

Residents along the river have long complained about the nuisance behavior exhibited by water enthusiasts, saying they have felt intimidated by visitors who trespass, park illegally, or urinate on their property.

Bryant, whose district encompasses the Dunnellon area, said the county had a responsibility to help the residents because many of those complaints pertained to visitors to the county's park.

Peebles told the board upward of 80,000 people utilize KP Hole during the summer. That did not include those who tube the river from Rainbow Springs State Park.

Dunnellon Mayor Nathan Whitt, who attended the meeting, applauded the County Commission for its efforts.

“I just can't thank you enough for exploring this,” Whitt said. “I think you're going to see less and less trouble.”

Sherry Evans, a Dunnellon resident who has had run-ins with some outlaw river users, also urged the board to action.

“You have people walking around drunk, losing their bathing suits, the language. It really is a problem, and I'm begging you, please don't slough this off,” she said. “Please don't let it take a death or a drowning or something horrible to happen. We need law enforcement. If you give that ... it's going to make a difference.”

In other action on Tuesday, the commission:

• Agreed to hold a 2 p.m. workshop on June 16 to discuss a potential local sales tax intended to fund a number of major projects around the community.

Chairman Carl Zalak four months ago convened a group of elected officials and staff from the county and Marion's five cities to cobble together recommendations for the tax proceeds.

The group produced a draft plan amounting to about $250 million for infrastructure and public safety items that could be paid for by a temporary sales tax.

On Tuesday, County Administrator Lee Niblock announced that after discussing the list in individual meetings with the board he could not discern its consensus on the issue.

He asked whether commissioners wanted a workshop to go over the plan in detail, hire a consultant to estimate the economic impact of the tax, or take another route.

The board opted for a workshop after Bryant and Commissioner Earl Arnett lobbied for one. The pair said the commission must improve response times of the Sheriff's Office and county Fire Rescue.

Yet Commissioner Stan McClain said he could not back a sales tax that only paid for the public safety aspect of the Zalak group's proposal.

He then expressed doubt about how many jobs would be created if the sales tax paid just for road projects, the other major aspect of it.

McClain said he envisioned the proposed sales tax as a “supertax,” meaning a levy that could be applied to a significant venture, such as the $29 million expansion of the county jail a decade ago. All the plan includes now, he added, is recurring costs, such as new vehicles.

“Somebody's going to have to pay for it somewhere, sometime. You're going to have to figure out how that gets back into a budget,” McClain said.

“At this point, I don't know if it's needed or not.”

• Unanimously approved a request by Ocala-based Leopard Transport Inc., a local ambulance operator that, with the county's blessing now secured, can pursue a license to transport patients requiring basic life support, but non-emergency, service.

Leopard Transport had approached the County Commission last August about changing its rules because the county had no mechanism offering companies an opportunity to obtain a certificate of need.

Getting that was necessary before the company could apply with the Florida Department of Health for a license to expand its service to shuttle patients between local health care facilities. Zalak has also said the company needed the license in order to bill government insurers such as Medicare.

The board granted its recommendation with several conditions.

Those included barring Leopard Transport from answering emergency calls, carrying patients from emergencies to local hospitals, or providing advanced life support.

The company must also submit quarterly reports indicating all of its transport activity.

County Fire Rescue already offers such service. In a report to the state, Fire Rescue officials noted that the department provides about 1,600 such rides each year, generating about $480,000.

Of note was the health insurance premium, which despite a $1 million reduction from Florida Blue still increased by $2.3 million for 2015.

Niblock told the board that the staff, in order to keep the budget flat, tapped reserve funding to cover the increase — the bulk of which was money freed up after settling of long-standing, high-dollar worker's compensation claims.

• Recognized Fire Rescue Lt. Scott Chappell, a 14-year veteran of the department and instructor at the Florida State Fire College who had been selected as the 2013 Search and Rescue Responder of the Year by the Florida Fire Chiefs Association.

• Approved an emergency payment of $198,735 to fix a sinkhole that opened near the county's Silver Spring Shores wastewater treatment plant.

<p>The crackdown on the Rainbow River nuisance-makers has been approved, just in time for the Memorial Day weekend.</p><p>The County Commission on Tuesday unanimously passed a pair of plans designed to prevent or punish scofflaw offenses such as trespassing, public drunkenness, public urination and littering.</p><p>Commissioners first revised a 20-year-old ordinance in order to reduce the fine for possessing disposable food or beverage containers on the river.</p><p>The penalty for that will now be a $50 citation. Prior to Tuesday, violators faced a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable with a maximum $500 fine and up to 60 days in jail.</p><p>County Parks and Recreation Department Director Gina Peebles told the board that the misdemeanor charge was “very punitive,” and thus made law enforcement officers hesitant to enforce the ordinance.</p><p>The reduced fine will make authorities “comfortable” with handing out more citations, she said.</p><p>The board's second step was to endorse Commissioner Kathy Bryant's request to beef up the law enforcement presence on the river, at the county's KP Hole Park and in nearby riverfront neighborhoods.</p><p>The vote will add three deputies during weekends and holidays from Memorial Day to Labor Day.</p><p>They will augment the two off-duty officers — one each from the Sheriff's Office and the Dunnellon Police Department — the county typically hires during that time. Those officers only patrol KP Hole, home of the tube launch, and Blue Run of Dunnellon Park, which is where they exit.</p><p>It's unclear how much the extra patrols will cost.</p><p>A proposal by Lt. Tim O'Hara, the Sheriff's Office's district commander for the Dunnellon area, put the cost at just shy of $30,000.</p><p>But his plan covered 44 days, and the board noted that it would need more deputies for only 33 days.</p><p>Residents along the river have long complained about the nuisance behavior exhibited by water enthusiasts, saying they have felt intimidated by visitors who trespass, park illegally, or urinate on their property.</p><p>Bryant, whose district encompasses the Dunnellon area, said the county had a responsibility to help the residents because many of those complaints pertained to visitors to the county's park.</p><p>Peebles told the board upward of 80,000 people utilize KP Hole during the summer. That did not include those who tube the river from Rainbow Springs State Park.</p><p>Dunnellon Mayor Nathan Whitt, who attended the meeting, applauded the County Commission for its efforts.</p><p>“I just can't thank you enough for exploring this,” Whitt said. “I think you're going to see less and less trouble.”</p><p>Sherry Evans, a Dunnellon resident who has had run-ins with some outlaw river users, also urged the board to action.</p><p>“You have people walking around drunk, losing their bathing suits, the language. It really is a problem, and I'm begging you, please don't slough this off,” she said. “Please don't let it take a death or a drowning or something horrible to happen. We need law enforcement. If you give that ... it's going to make a difference.”</p><p>In other action on Tuesday, the commission:</p><p>• Agreed to hold a 2 p.m. workshop on June 16 to discuss a potential local sales tax intended to fund a number of major projects around the community.</p><p>Chairman Carl Zalak four months ago convened a group of elected officials and staff from the county and Marion's five cities to cobble together recommendations for the tax proceeds.</p><p>The group produced a draft plan amounting to about $250 million for infrastructure and public safety items that could be paid for by a temporary sales tax.</p><p>On Tuesday, County Administrator Lee Niblock announced that after discussing the list in individual meetings with the board he could not discern its consensus on the issue.</p><p>He asked whether commissioners wanted a workshop to go over the plan in detail, hire a consultant to estimate the economic impact of the tax, or take another route.</p><p>The board opted for a workshop after Bryant and Commissioner Earl Arnett lobbied for one. The pair said the commission must improve response times of the Sheriff's Office and county Fire Rescue.</p><p>Yet Commissioner Stan McClain said he could not back a sales tax that only paid for the public safety aspect of the Zalak group's proposal.</p><p>He then expressed doubt about how many jobs would be created if the sales tax paid just for road projects, the other major aspect of it.</p><p>McClain said he envisioned the proposed sales tax as a “supertax,” meaning a levy that could be applied to a significant venture, such as the $29 million expansion of the county jail a decade ago. All the plan includes now, he added, is recurring costs, such as new vehicles.</p><p>“Somebody's going to have to pay for it somewhere, sometime. You're going to have to figure out how that gets back into a budget,” McClain said.</p><p>“At this point, I don't know if it's needed or not.”</p><p>• Unanimously approved a request by Ocala-based Leopard Transport Inc., a local ambulance operator that, with the county's blessing now secured, can pursue a license to transport patients requiring basic life support, but non-emergency, service.</p><p>Leopard Transport had approached the County Commission last August about changing its rules because the county had no mechanism offering companies an opportunity to obtain a certificate of need.</p><p>Getting that was necessary before the company could apply with the Florida Department of Health for a license to expand its service to shuttle patients between local health care facilities. Zalak has also said the company needed the license in order to bill government insurers such as Medicare.</p><p>The board granted its recommendation with several conditions.</p><p>Those included barring Leopard Transport from answering emergency calls, carrying patients from emergencies to local hospitals, or providing advanced life support.</p><p>The company must also submit quarterly reports indicating all of its transport activity.</p><p>County Fire Rescue already offers such service. In a report to the state, Fire Rescue officials noted that the department provides about 1,600 such rides each year, generating about $480,000.</p><p>Leopard Transport's license could cut into that.</p><p>Ocala resident Carl Crabtree urged the board to safeguard against future “cherry-picking” of the “second-to-none” ambulance service.</p><p>Zalak assured him that the restrictions were designed to do that.</p><p>• Renewed the employees' insurance plans for health, life, dental, vision and disability.</p><p>Of note was the health insurance premium, which despite a $1 million reduction from Florida Blue still increased by $2.3 million for 2015.</p><p>Niblock told the board that the staff, in order to keep the budget flat, tapped reserve funding to cover the increase — the bulk of which was money freed up after settling of long-standing, high-dollar worker's compensation claims.</p><p>• Recognized Fire Rescue Lt. Scott Chappell, a 14-year veteran of the department and instructor at the Florida State Fire College who had been selected as the 2013 Search and Rescue Responder of the Year by the Florida Fire Chiefs Association.</p><p>• Approved an emergency payment of $198,735 to fix a sinkhole that opened near the county's Silver Spring Shores wastewater treatment plant.</p><p><i>Contact Bill Thompson at 867-4117 or at bill.thompson@ocala.com.</i></p>